Knoebels Flying Turns documentary to air on Ohio PBS station

Posted Tuesday, June 28, 2016 4:53 PM | Contributed by Jeff

From the press release:

What does it take to build a wooden roller coaster for which neither plans nor working replicas exist? A new documentary by StoryWorks.TV in Cleveland chronicles the process that took more than seven years to complete. “Flying Turns: Resurrecting a Legend” will premiere on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1) on Friday, July 15, at 10 p.m.

After an absence of four decades, and roughly 70 years since the Flying Turns coaster was last constructed in the United States, it is now back at Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pa. With virtually no available historic plans or construction documentation from the original rides, park president Dick Knoebel and a
talented supporting cast worked for more than seven years to build an all-new “classic” coaster, rekindling a passion and craftsmanship thought lost to time. Knoebel’s passion for the coaster dates back to the 1960s, when he first rode the Flying Turns roller coaster at Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland.

In 2006, StoryWorks.TV in Cleveland was granted permission by Knoebels to document the construction of the coaster. “Flying Turns: Resurrecting a Legend” provides a detailed account of the project through exclusive video, photographs and interviews.

Gary Manke, who works for both Western Reserve Public Media and StoryWorks.TV, and his wife, Therese, are executive producers of the documentary. Additional air dates on Western Reserve PBS and on Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2) are available at http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/schedule.htm.